Gulfsands Petroleum fails to secure new Fes extension

Gulfsands Petroleum has not been able to secure an extension for its Fes Petroleum agreement in Morocco, which expired on 24 September.

The AIM-listed oil and gas exploration company with activities in Syria, Morocco, Tunisia and Colombia, said it had submitted a request for a six-month extension to Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), the state oil company of the Republic of Morocco.

Gulfsands said ONHYM has called in the $5m bank guarantee held for the performance of the agreed minimum work programme and as a result, $5m of restricted cash has been forfeited.

Chairman Alastair Beardsall said: “We are disappointed not to have been given an extension to progress our discussions with potential farm-in partners.

“The geology within the Fes area is very complex; only recently have we been able to interpret the re-processed 2D seismic data acquired in early 2014 and begin the process of identifying potential drill-ready prospects, unfortunately we have run out of time to continue the exploration programme."

At 1337 BST, Gulfsands shares were down 13% at 4.2575p.